Why I Continue to Be Loud About Female-Inclusivity Initiatives in Tech & Business

How AllRaise personifies the kind of drive I hope to continue to see throughout my career in tech

Over the last few months, I have grown increasingly loud about my support for initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion in tech & business. This has been especially true over the last couple months as I’ve watched what started out as Female Founder Office Hours culminate now in AllRaise.org. What I wanted to see grow and expand — a push from female VC’s like megan quinn, AileenLee, Jenny Lefcourt, Jess Lee, and their team members to bring more women into tech and foster a support system for them — has indeed now germinated into a force (and I can’t help but be amazed at what they & their allies have already accomplished in such a short period). I’ve written a response piece to AllRaise’s announced launch already, but sometimes one statement of support just isn’t enough.

I came into tech almost accidentally from the music world. That’s really my wheelhouse and one of the main industries I continue to build for and strive to impact. But lately, I’ve been running a thought experiment: is there theoretically anything that could make me walk away from music, even for a little bit?

Recently, I’ve come to the answer that yes, there is: diversity, inclusivity, and egalitarianism.

We’re at an inflection point now — the smart people realize that the future success of and in tech/business will be had by those who invite new perspectives and prize egalitarian dynamics. The future of the tech IPO no longer looks like a bunch of white guys huddled around a singular mindset. Now it looks exactly like Stitch Fix founder & CEO Katrina Lake holding her infant child ringing the bell to bring her company public — just as that picture was a metaphor for changing dynamics in tech, so too is an initiative like AllRaise key in helping usher in that new era of opportunities.

So if I sound excitedly determined, it’s because I am. Because the historian in me can discern that we’re at the beginning of a new cycle rife with possibilities to have a more diverse tech and business universe than we’ve ever had before.

At the end of the day, I will always be the first to make a music reference, and this just has Riot Grrrl punk written all over it. It’s brilliant and I am 100% behind it.

Note: This post was (unsurprisingly) written while listening to Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, L7, Sleater-Kinney, and 7 Year Bitch. 🤘🤘

***

Find me on Twitter @adammarx13 and let’s talk music, tech, and business!

Originally published at adammarxsmind.com on April 12, 2018.